Russian FM Blames OSCE For Kyrgyz Unrest

Sergei Lavrov (file photo)
24 March 2005 -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is partly responsible for the unrest in Kyrgyzstan.

Lavrov's remarks come a day after Russia's envoy to the OSCE, Aleksei Borodavkin, said the OSCE's reports on Kyrgyzstan's recent parliamentary elections were sometimes politicized assessments rather than a measured report of the elections.

Earlier, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, speaking in Kazakhstan, said Moscow is opposed to the use of force to settle the conflict in Kyrgyzstan.

Fradkov said Moscow would like to see all conflicting parties in the Central Asian country to resolve their disputes by lawful means.